Sweet Basil Thai Cuisine

Haters may be hating, but this place has solid Thai. It's not fancy or anything but it's solid. The prices are right, the servers friendly, and the happy hour one of my favorites. more

Most unprofessional service I have experienced at a PDX restaurant. Comments were so offensive that I left my take out food and walked out. My only regret is not demanding a refund on the spot. I live in the neighborhood, and I had frequented this location many times, but I will never support them again. more

best happy hour in NE Portland. start from $2 good deal on the cocktail and wine too. more

I recently got married and my husband begged me to let us have Sweet Basil cater the reception. Knowing how excellent the food is at the restaurant, I didn't hesitate in saying ""YES!"" Needless to say, Boos and his catering crew FAR exceeded our expectations. They were prompt, helpful, and went above and beyond to take stress off the rest of us in a DIY party setting. The ""Oh My God"" appetizers live up to their name, and the Pa Nang curry is one of my faves. The food was so delicious that even those who had never tasted Thai food before (i.e. older relatives) said they'd love to go to the restaurant now to try other dishes. If I could give more stars, I would! Pros: Excellent service, genuine Thai taste more

\r I have not gone there for dinner, but for lunch I know it's fantastic. Really fine food, fair prices, and you can sit out in the back garden in the summer. more

I have been going here for a number of years. The customer service is always the best and the atmosphere is very relaxing. In the summer, the back porch is open and is covered with grape vines. The menu is always great and the chef often has delicious surprise recipes. I highly recommend this delightful restaurant. Pros: everything! more

Ok, so i went at lunch time on a wednesday, and not a lot of people, but food took forever, people where getting their food before we did, and we were there first, so, if you are in a hurry, and only have 1 hour for lunch, dont go there.\r Pros: nice patio, great taste. Cons: slow service more

On Aug 21st, I had the worst dining experience of my life at Sweet Basil. After we were seated we did not see a server again for 20 minutes. Several other parties came in a sat down. I finally asked a server if we could place our order. We watched all the tables around us receive their food. I kindly asked one of the two wait staff if they were short staffed that evening. Her response was, ""no, this is typical"". When I stated we had been there an hour and had yet to receive our soup she told me ""this is not a fast food restaurant"". \r \r Our soup finally came. We finished and waited another 15 minutes and I once again asked how much longer it would be as we may need to take our food to go at this point, our waiters response was, ""yeah, sure"" and walked away. We never saw him again. Well after 10 more minutes of waiting for him to come back, we stood up to leave.\r \r As we approached the door, the same woman yelled for everyone in the restaurant to hear, ""you can't leave you haven't paid for your soup"". We had been at the restaurant for\r 1 1/2 hours with no drinks, one soup, no serving spoon and no spoon to feed the baby after I asked three times! I started to tell her that we haven't had proper service and we could no longer wait for our food or bill. She told me to leave and we were not welcome back in the restaurant. Everyone in the restaurant looked and each table around us knew the lack of service we were all receiving. One gentleman said, ""yeah where is the service tonight"". I asked to talk with the owner and he refused to come out and talk with me. \r \r I run a business in Portland and am hosting a large open house expecting 100 guests in three weeks. I will making sure everyone knows about the lack of service and how my family was treated at Sweet Basil on Broadway. I have told five people today. I wonder if the owner cares. more

I hosted my husband's birthday party at Sweet Basil recently. There was a group of 12 of us plus one toddler. We started out the evening on the patio which was wonderful, a great outdoor dining location. It started to rain though and they moved us inside very quickly. The food was awesome (we love the crab wontons!) , the service was great and we really appreciated how hard they tried to make this a great night for my husband's birthday. They helped me get his cake ready and even dimmed the lights when the candles were lit. We were a loud , rambuncious crowd and they took it all in stride. Thanks! We highly recommend this location for a special occasion. more

The food here is good. The food is fresh, and made with quality ingredients. If it were not for the terrible service I would go back. Last night my husband and I waited at a table for over ten minutes without any one so much as acknowledging us. The place was not even busy yet. No one asked if we wanted a drink, or appetizer. The server walked by us several times, and ignored me when I tried to flag him down. It is too bad, because I won't eat here again, I will also tell my friends to eat at some of the other Thai restaurants that have better service. Pros: Fresh ingredients Cons: Service more

The Happy Hour food is really good, really affordable, and really worth making the trip to Basil Bar- that is, if you don't mind paying EXTRA for things such as tonic, OJ, and cranberry juice. The menu says, ""Well Drinks, $3.50""- which is completely reasonable (considering some of their specialty drinks are $7) & to any normal bar-goer, that means drinks such as Vodka Tonic, Screwdriver, Rum & Coke, etc. Well, at Basil Bar (or should I say ""Cold Stone Creamery"") that means ""only the bottom shelf alcohol, folks"" - any additional ""mix-in"" will cost ya. No joke- it's itemized on the bill for all to see and gasp at.\r \r Really, folks - if you want customers to return to your bar and/or recommend your bar to others- I suggest you stop charging for ""mix-ins."" That, or up your ""well drink"" price to $4 and put ""includes complimentary OJ, cranberry, and tonic!"" in parentheses. Pros: Really great thai food and super-low prices Cons: Juice + tonic are NOT included in the drink price....seriously.... more

I live just a few blocks from Sweet Basil and eat here at least 2-3 times a month. Their service has always been prompt and friendly. Their pad ke mao (like pad thai with wide noodles) and tom ka (coconut soup) are fantastic. My only small complaint is their spicyness rating is not very consistent. Sometimes the ""medium"" is medium, and sometimes it is mild. This is an excellent choice for lunch or to go. Their outdoor patio is really nice too. Pros: Great food, friendly service Cons: spicyness is not consistant more

On Broadway, there are sooooo many other Thai restaurants that you would have to be searching for the worst food to have picked this one. OK. So that's harsh and extreme, which is going to be a total write off to anyone reading these, but here's the deal. It's true. Really. The food at the other places is so much better and combined with the prices of the Basil, there's really no reason to go to it. Unless you want to go to their bar and be extremely distracted by the 4'x5' projected sports TV in the front room, or in the black-lit make out room residing to the back. Ok. So there wasn't any make out back there; I'm just spewing here. Overall, if you're still reading this, you're much better off going to one of the other places if you're going for the food. Which I was. And now I'm disappointed. Oh so Disappointed. Big frowny face Disappointed. more

This was some of the best and freshest tasting Thai food I have had in a while. No, the service was not perfect (a bit on the slow side) but everyone was friendly and helpful. The pace is relaxed so if perhaps time is a crucial factor it may be better to phone ahead to go. For us it was nice to spend some time over a good meal. \r As far as portion size all I can say is that I did not leave hungry! The atmosphere is pleasant and next time we will take advantage of the patio seating. I will recommend this place to others and look forward to going back soon! more

The Crab Rangoons and Pad Kee Mao are great. Service is iffy depending on staff and business. The owner will ocassionally make deliveries, himself, and is always pleasant. After some staff adjustments I'm sure they'll be back up to speed the way there were a few years ago. The patio is nice but avoid the bar downstairs. The bartender is not nice . Pros: patio Cons: service at times more

I have honestly never had a bad experience here, in fact, I just CAME from there and thought ""I need to give them a shout out"". My friends and I usually go to the Basil Bar downstairs so we can watch TV and chit chat...but the drinks are to die for, the bartender was above and BEYOND helpful, the specials during the week are great, but mainly.....the food is lovely. I love the flavors, I don't get the felling of ""cheap filler"" and the Oh My God appetizers ALONE are worth the trip. Great place. I had a very tasty beef salad that was PERFECT. I brought my friend who is vegetarian and she was pleased with all of her choices. I had some bites of hers and it was fresh, fresh, fresh tasting. more

I agree with all comments from the previous review.\r The staff is wonderful, kind and personable.\r The food is superb. Fresh wrapped is good if it is not fried. All soup is scrumptious. The fried lobster bites are awsome (especially with the sauce)... the list goes on. Eat anything and you will be happy. Drinks are great and made by a bartender who knows their stuff.\r Big screen that is showing cartoons (or sportscenter) as you are listening to music.\r I miss the live DJ, but the staff generally has a good choice in music (or Aqua Teen Hunger Force). Not too crowded... and to me, this is the best part. This is an intimate and cozy bar with a non-smoking room in the front, a smoking room in the back (with great wall-art), and a couple tables out front during the dry season. Highly recommended! You must go there and try it out yourself! Pros: food, drinks, intimate atmosphere more

It looks so cute and had such nice reviews that I had to try it... once... I'm not sure what the appeal here is for other diners, but it can't be the bland food. Wasn't even worth a second try. more

We recently sat inside for dinner here, after having moved back to Portland. What a disappointment. The service was appalling - it took 20 minutes just to get the wine we ordered - and the food was not good! In fact, we declined left-overs (which we never do at Thai). I really loved this place years ago - I hope it comes back around. Pros: NE location Cons: Service and average food more

This was my favorite Thai place in NE and when I moved away from Portland I always looked forward to visiting SB when I came home for a visit. The last time I went I noticed little differences like the portions seemed smaller or a scare 3 or 4 shrimp in a whole dish. Confirmed by former regulars and coupled with all the dishes seemed to have increases $1 or so Sweet Basil has gone from a great spot to an average overpriced restaurant. Too bad. more